Of Weasels and Hedgehogs
by thekyuubivixen
Summary: Three years after the events of the prequel, Sonic is summoned back to the Hidden Leaf to participate in a plan that he isn't too fond of. The ninja think that it'll go off without a hitch, but will Sonic's friends, who are there accidentally, change things? And the bigger question is...When did people start trusting weasels?
1. Chapter 1: Weasels

**Disclaimer- I don't own any Sonic or Naruto characters mentioned in this fanfic! :'( This goes for every chapter in the story so I don't have to retype it over and over again. XD**

**A/N- Hey guys! I'm baaacck! And with a new Naruto/Sonic fanfic too! Well…not exactly new…but kinda a continuation…You know what I mean! I realize that it's been like a month since the last chapter of the prequel, but I can explain! **

…

**That isn't important right now, the story info is!**

**Even though this seems canon at first, don't think that the story is gonna follow that path. As you know, (if you read A Faster than Sound nin) a certain snake and his lackey is (X_X) dead, yeah, so don't expect it to follow the regular Naruto Shippuden. Speaking of this being a sequel, you don't **_**have**_** to read the prequel, but it's highly suggested that you do so you know the backstory and such. **

**Enough of my yabbering, it's story time!**

**Weasels**

It's a stare down.

The strong breeze in the clearing we're occupying blows our hair around, making it flow in the wind. The sun is bright and there are few clouds to block the view of the clear blue sky. It would be the perfect day to laze around and do nothing. I would be doing precisely that, while eating the prized Ichiraku ramen of course, if I wasn't completing an important mission.

We had just left the Hidden Sand village to find the Akatsuki hideout so we could save Gaara. Now, we're standing in a field in front of an obstacle that I didn't know we would have to face until later when we went in to save the Fifth Kazekage. Great. Now Gaara is going to have to wait a bit longer.

I'm standing here, tense and ready for some action, with Kakashi-sensei, Granny Chiyo, and Sakura as we eye our opponent on the other side of the clearing. He's just standing there, cloak with red clouds fluttering in the wind along with his jet black hair. Under his slashed headband are his activated red eyes which are normally the exact color of his hair when chakra isn't swirling around in them. I grit my teeth and feel a bead of sweat roll down the side my face. Itachi…

Granny Chiyo, beside me, takes a step forward and I glance at her, wondering what she's going to say. Her eyes don't leave the raven's face. "So…That's the one." She narrows her eyes. "The child who wiped out his entire clan…"

"Kakashi. Naruto." I whip my head around back to Itachi as soon as he says my name. In the corner of my eye, I see that sensei subtly tenses up when the Sharingan user utters his as well. "It's been a while." It's been about three years. Three years since I saw the bastard in the hotel I was staying in with the Pervy Sage, Jiraiya.

Scowling, I speak up even though my heart beat is pounding a million miles per minute. "I wasn't enough for you, huh?" I growl out. "You had to go after Gaara as well!" Dammit, he could be dying right now! We have to hurry and save him! I point my finger at the raven, confidence growing. "I'll destroy every last one of you!" They will get what's coming for them for taking my friend! Gaara is the Kazekage; he had earned respect from all of Suna's citizens. He doesn't deserve to die!

Itachi starts to move his right arm and Kakashi gasps, holding his arm straight out to the side. "Everyone! Whatever you do, don't look him in the eyes!" We three look at the jonin before nodding. Itachi then makes a hand sign in front of his face, staring blankly at the four of us, as Kakashi explains why. "Itachi's genjutsu is a visual jutsu which means, avoid eye contact with him and the jutsu won't take effect."

"Yeah, that I know." I respond to him, having had many experiences with the Sharingan. Sakura has had a lot too. I think sensei's only explaining this to Granny Chiyo so she won't make the mistake of doing so.

"Okay…but then how are we supposed to fight him?" Sakura asks, fists clenched. I can tell she wants to take down this guy as much as I do for killing Sasuke's family and for keeping Gaara.

Kakashi pauses for a moment before answering. "That's…the tricky part. You have to anticipate his moves by watching his feet, his body." Sakura and I have done that before with Sasuke, but none of that was as serious as this right now. "He's going to be more difficult to read than Sasuke, so be vigilant."

I see Sakura struggling to keep her eyes lowered. It's hard not to look into someone's eyes. When we sparred with Sasuke before I left, we fought without staring at my rival's eyes maybe once a week. We had just started doing that too, so we are nowhere near pros at it. We might as well be still beginners.

"It's like fighting with one hand tied behind your back…" Sakura points out, glancing down.

"It's been a while since I've been up against the Sharingan." Granny Chiyo starts. I turn and look wide-eyed at her, not believing her words. "Don't be so surprised. I've been around. And I know that there's more than one way to fight against a visual jutsu."

"How?" I ask, desperate to find a way to take down Itachi once and for all without screwing up.

"If it's one on one, you get out of there. You won't have a chance. If it's two on one, then one of the duo could provide a distraction as the other goes in for the kill."

"What if one gets caught in it?"

"Then the one who's free can either strike the Sharingan user or their comrade to knock them out of their daze. So one of us needs to be a distraction while the rest of us hit him with various attacks."

After I take her words in, I turn towards Itachi and smirk a little. "Alright." I say stepping up. "Let's g-"

"Wait." Sensei stops me, holding out his hand.

I blink, confused. "What Kakashi-sensei?"

"Do you have a problem with my plan?" Chiyo deadpans, glancing askance at the jonin. "Are you hinting that it won't work?"

"No." Kakashi replies simply. "It would work on any other person, but what we are dealing with here is more complicated." Chiyo raises a brow, telling him clearly without sound to continue to explain himself. "Itachi has the Mangekyo Sharingan. If you get hit with it, your sense of time will be warped. Hours can seem like days. I should know; I have personal experience." He narrows his uncovered eye. "It can't be broken just like that."

I inwardly gasp before facing Itachi again. His Sharingan is nothing like Sasuke's at all! If I look in Itachi's eyes, I'm done for!

The old woman grunts. "Hm…What a troublesome fellow this is." I can't help it to compare her to a specific person of the Nara clan.

"Good job, Kakashi." Itachi's deep voice carries over the wind. "Nice to know that your time trapped wasn't wasted."

"I've also learned something else." I listen closely, knowing that every fact could help me in some way. "Using the genjutsu exhausts you, doesn't it? You can risk permanent damage." Kakashi pulls up his bandana, showing his own Sharingan. "But, I wonder how much." He places his hand on his hip. "Things are not going to go like last time. Not at all."

Just for a second, I see the raven lose his composure before regaining it, closing his eyes. A grin grows on my face and I point to myself. "And don't think I'm the same kid back then either!"

"Naruto. Leave him to me." I look at him, frowning. Please don't let him do the same thing he did when we were with the bridge builder…! "I'm going to need you to have my back. I'm going to need you all this time." After a few seconds of awe, I nod and smile, focusing back on the raven across the field.

Then, all of a sudden, Kakashi sprints forward toward the Uchiha. In a flash, he throws a fist, but Itachi catches it with little difficulty. I scowl at that, but then focus on the _real_ raven running at us quickly. Holding out my hand, I summon a ball of wind and plan to meet Itachi in the middle. When I get close enough, I yell, "Rasengan!" before slamming the technique straight into the Uchiha's chest.

My moment of triumph is quickly squashed when Itachi disappears in a cloud of smoke. "Another shadow clone?!" Of course this won't be easy. When the smoke fades away, I'm shocked to see Kakashi, Sakura, and Granny Chiyo all laying on the ground, motionless. Not knowing what to do, I just stare at them. "Wha…?"

They all start to get up, and I start to calm back down; but then Sakura turns into Itachi. My eyes widen before I narrow them and get into a fighting stance, knowing that serious combat is coming soon. In my peripherals, I see that Chiyo and Kakashi also transform into the raven. Cold sweat is forming on my forehead. What's going on here?

Not liking this situation at all, I do what first comes to mind and throw a multitude of kunai in their directions, hitting all of them. My mouth ultimately falls open when the shadow clones float midair before turning into black crows and fly off above my head. Realizing what's happening, I look up to see the birds forming another Itachi. "But I didn't look into his eyes!" I yell aloud, frustrated that I've fallen somehow into the Uchiha's trap.

"It doesn't matter." He says, watching me from his place in the sky. He's red eyes are piercing mine, but I don't glance away knowing that I've already been pulled into his genjutsu. "All I need is a single finger."

My breath hitches as I get what he's saying. He can cast genjutsu without his eyes! What am I going to do now?!

"But," He continues, voice floating over to where I am. "I'm not going to use my Mangekyo Sharingan." Surprisingly, Itachi floats back down and grounds himself a few yards away from me. Gritting my teeth, I glare at him and get ready for anything, literally. I'm trapped in a world _he_ made. The raven just stares at me with no expression, causing a cold shiver down my spine. "I want to talk with you."

I expected many things, but that was _not_ anywhere near the words I thought that would come out of his mouth.

A confused frown appears on my face, but I know better than to drop my guard. As much as I don't like it, I'm trapped and he can do anything he wanted with me, which includes taking me for the Nine Tails. But…Itachi isn't doing anything. He has his chance, but he isn't taking it. Even though I'm still cautious, I let curiosity guide my mouth. "Talk?" The uncertainty is heavily laced in my tone. I never thought that I would ever be having a conversation with the man who murdered my friend's family, but here I am.

The raven takes a step forward. "It's more of a negotiation, really."

I instantly take a step back, not wanting the space between us to get any less. "Why would I even try to negotiate with someone like you?" I yell with a deep scowl. What's with this guy? Why in the world would I listen any words he has to say? Itachi is part of the _Akatsuki_, who is after _me!_ So why would I-

"You do value your friend's life, correct?"

My mouth goes dry very quickly and it seems like a golf ball lodged itself in in my throat. I try to speak, but my tongue doesn't want to cooperate.

Itachi, seeing my expression, continues. "I take that as a yes." The raven takes a couple steps forward and I want to move backwards to keep him from getting too close, but my body doesn't listen to me. Heart rate increasing, I try to get my legs, arms, _something _to at least twitch, but it's like my body is made out of stone! After willing myself to move and not getting any result, I grit my teeth and focus back on the Uchiha who is now a few feet away from me, no emotion in those red eyes. "Don't waste your time. This is the place of my creation."

Anger and fright are bubbling up inside me as my breaths get shorter and more panicked. "What do you want from me?" Oh wait…I know that. "You're not taking me to get the Kyuubi! My friends and sensei will make sure-"

"We don't want you anymore." Itachi says, cutting my words off and effectively short-circuiting my brain in the process. "Nor any of the tailed beasts."

I blink a couple times, horribly confused. He doesn't- They don't want- _What? _Akatsuki isn't after the beasts anymore? Then what _are_ they after? I know that I should be happy or at least relieved about this, but something seems off. Yeah, I can't trust any of the words coming out of his mouth. He might be trying throw me for a loop, or something. Time to burst his bubble because I'm not buying any of it!

"Then why'd you take Gaara, huh?" I really hope he's okay right now. "If you don't care if he's a jinchuuriki, why in the hell isn't he back in the Hidden Sand with his people?"

"We needed him as bait to get you here." My nervousness rises as he comes even closer, his monotonous drone filling the air. "And it worked." He stops right in front of me and looks down at my face. "Now, you will listen, or the Ichibi container loses his life." Dammit, now I have no choice! Wait…I don't want to think this, but what if he is already dead? Then the raven is just hanging an empty threat over my head. When I ask if he is, Itachi answers with a, "No, unless…"

"Unless I don't listen." I sigh out, severely upset about this new development. I can't really do anything but comply in this situation. Yeah, the raven could be lying through his teeth, but what if he isn't and I make the wrong move? I can't have the death of my friend on my hands. Even though I know that I'm going to regret this, I give in and ask lowly, "What do you want?"

"I want to make an exchange."

"An exchange?" If I could move, both of my eyebrows would be invisible under the fringes of my hair. What does he want that he can't already take by force? Not that I want him to, mind you, but just seems too weird.

"Yes. I will return the jinchuuriki we have in our possession to you." I can't believe this. He'll give us back Gaara? Is he serious? "In a week. At noon, we will meet on Tenchi Bridge. I will be alone with only my charge, and you with yours. If you two aren't the only ones, I will kill the Ichibi holder on site."

"Wait." I say, slightly worried that I'm going to have to exchange another person for Gaara. That's what I guess he's talking about. He wants me to go alone with someone that he, or his group, wants so we can trade. I'm really apprehensive about this. Having Gaara back will be great, but…who does Itachi want? "Who do you want me to bring? What's their name?" Are they from my village? From somewhere else? A child? Elderly? I have no clue!

Itachi actually smirks and I'm taken aback because that's the first sign of emotion I've seen on him today…or ever really. "I won't give you a name." Is he really giving me a riddle? Right now? "I don't need to. He was known by everyone then, but is nothing but a fading memory now. He destroyed homes and split apart families, not caring in the slightest. However, you ninja held him in a good light." Itachi backs away from me and I realize that I can move now. Clenching and unclenching my fists, I continue to listen to the other. "He was here and gone, like a swift breeze."

The smirk leaves the raven's face and the cold blank expression returns, making my gut churn. "But I know that you can bring him to me, and you will, if you want your friend alive."

* * *

**A nice little teaser, don't ya think? XD**

**Who does Itachi want, hm? And Why? Even though you might know the first part, the last one won't be cleared up for a while…or will it? :P Ya gotta wait 'n see! **

**Oh! And the winners of the poll will be making their debut next chappie! So stay tuned for that!**

**Catcha later!**


	2. Chapter 2: Hedgehogs

**A/N- Hey my fellow readers! Who's ready for chapter two? But before the story starts, I would like to thank my reviewers! karygarcia21, SerenaTheHedgehog, RedCloudFangirl26519, Hazlov2004, and CeiwenS…you guys are the best! I just think it's awesome that you showed interest in this fic like the prequel. Also, I have a HUGE plate of virtual cookies for all of the people who faved, followed, and reviewed the story! Hope you enjoy them :3**

**PS- They won't be running out anytime soon, so if you want some of my super delicious virtual cookies, you know what to do! XD**

**Hedgehogs**

**Sonic's POV**

It's a stare down.

The weak breeze blowing in the area is more than enough to pick up the stench of oil, my nose automatically scrunching up at the smell of the foul stuff. Without taking my eyes off of my sworn nemesis, I scratch my nose like the single action would get rid of the unfortunately familiar smell.

We are currently standing in the back of one of Eggman's (aka Egghead, Eggy, Baldy McNosehair, etc…Depends how I feel at the time) rather large and elaborate labs. After easily finding the fatso in his main room, he surprised us by pressing a button on a remote control when we all entered the room. There was a loud rumble until a hover chair, which he could actually fit in, dropped down from the metal ceiling through a sliding panel. Before any of us could do anything, the doctor hopped into it and steered his way out of the only exit of the room, making us dive out of the way to keep from being barreled over.

Before we could chase after him, I suggested that we split into two groups. One fast team to chase down Eggman and another team to go find the chaos emeralds and the Master Emerald, that Eggy somehow gotten ahold of, which were somewhere hidden in the vast base. I, of course, would lead the first team while Knuckles led the second because he could sense the approximate location of the M.E. and that was a great start.

Rouge decided without hesitation that she wanted to join with the echidna guardian, no doubt wanting an excuse to get close to the gems. Amy, after _a lot_ of convincing, went along with Knuckles and the jewel lover. She wasn't the happiest about the situation, but I couldn't be more relieved. Finally, Blaze (who's visiting because she wanted to take a small vacation from her home dimension) voluntarily joined the now complete group. I asked why because I knew, along with everyone else, that she's faster than Tails. She answered that her more dominant power, her flames, would be handier in melting down steel doors that were almost certainly hiding the colorful emeralds.

Seeing her point, the occupants of team one nodded the four off as the quartet went the opposite way Eggman had gone. Tails called out to Knuckles to come back quickly, that he forgot to give the echidna something. Group two came back and the kit snapped something around the guardian's wrist; he did the same to me. Tails said that they were high-powered communicators that he'd made earlier in the week. With them we could check our progress. When that was done, Knuckles and his team ran away again to complete their mission. I chuckled when I heard Knuckles complaining that he had been grouped with girls. When they disappeared, I, as the leader of the group, zoomed after Egghead and the others followed, even though one member was begrudged that I was the one leading the team.

So that's how Tails, Shadow, Silver, and I got here, in the clearing behind the massive lab. We are all in a ready stance, getting ready for the show that is about to go down. I'm slightly crouched, hands balled into fists, ready to get this party started. Tails is to my right, his namesakes swishing back and forth swiftly. In his hand is an electronic whip that activates when a certain button is pushed **(1)**. He had just finished the invention this morning, so the kit was ecstatic when he knew he would get to use it today. Silver is to my left in the same position I am except for the fact that his hands are radiating a cyan glow. Lastly, Shadow is on the other side of Tails with his arms crossed, a glare and a frown set on his face. As per usual.

The near silent atmosphere is then interrupted by the sound of static coming from my wrist. Not shifting my gaze away from the giant before me, I bring my wrist closer to my mouth and press the button on the side of the communicator, getting rid of the slightly annoying noise.

"What's up, Knux?" In my peripherals, I see the other three glance my way before focusing back in front of them, no doubt curious to why the guardian had called so soon.

"_We just wanted to know if you caught up to Eggman or not."_

Have we caught up to Eggman? Well let's see. Standing a good amount of yards away from us is something someone with arachnophobia would hate to see. Seriously. They would literally run away to go find a corner to hide in, screaming their lungs out. There is a huge spider looking robot in front of us, its mechanical fangs closing together periodically before spreading apart again. It's like the bot is actually breathing. The very _large_ heap of bolts has eight legs that give the spider a wide berth; there are blades on the first four limbs and holes for missiles on the back four. It seems like it's based on a black widow with its big artificial backside. I think there is even an Eggman insignia on the robotic abdomen, exactly where the double red triangles are on the real spider. Last but not least, McNosehair himself. He's sitting at a control panel on top of the head, acting like the pseudo arachnid's eyes, with a thick and reinforced dome of glass separating him from the outside.

So…I think we found him.

"Yeah, we caught up to him." I eye the spider, trying to point out any weak points. "And he's got a new pet, too. We're behind the lab, but there's no need to find us though; we can take care him."

"_Tch. Just don't die doing something crazy."_

I let out a snicker. "Do you know who I am?"

"_Yeah yeah."_

The connection cut out, signifying that Knuckles had stopped pressing the button, and I lower my wrist. Not intimidated by the sight at all, I place my hand on my hip and give ol' Eggy my signature grin. "We have to play as exterminators today? I think I can handle that." I say loud enough so the doctor could hear. "What about you guys?" I ask without looking at them. I've already figured out that the legs are the weak points, but we would have to get close enough to take them out without getting sliced or blasted.

A cocky smile grows on Tails' face. Guess I'm rubbing off on the little eleven year old. "Do you even have to ask?"

Shadow grunts, letting an all too rare smirk on his muzzle. "Faker's just wasting his breath."

"Um…" I glance over to Silver with a raised brow. The white hedgehog actually looks a little uncomfortable. There is a nervous frown on his face and his eyes are more wide than normal. Silver turns his head towards me and gulps. "Did I ever mention that I have a _slight_ fear of s-spiders?"

"No, no you didn't." Despite how I think that might be a problem, I pat the other on the shoulder. I gesture to the monstrosity before us. "Look, Silver, this thing is more metal than actual spider." I grin at him, trying to reassure the slightly younger 'hog. "It's not that scary!" Someone who's seventeen and has a fear of spiders…I think I've seen it all.

Silver takes a deep breath before focusing on the robot again, eyes hardened. My grin grows when he starts radiating confidence. We can't afford any hesitation here. Even though this situation doesn't bother me in the slightest, I know that we have to be careful because this is one of the better bots that Eggman has built in a while. Heh, but that doesn't change the fact that we'll be trashing it!

"Enough conversation!" Eggman's voice carries down from the top of the spider head, able to be heard because of the speaker in the little room he's in. "It's time for you rodents and er…lone vulpine, to perish!" Eggy's ridiculous cackle fills the area and we four look at each other in exasperation. The doctor eventually finishes and glares down at us. "I've been tired of you all ruining my plans for world domination! So I've gathered most of the Chaos emeralds and the Master Emerald just to lure you here!" He smiles wickedly. "Any last words?"

"Nope." I answer, loving how he thinks he's going to win this time when he never had before. "Because these sure aren't gonna be my last!"

Eggman scowls. "Very well." Those are his final words before he readies the robot. "Take this!" After over exaggerating a button push, the fangs of the robospider widen more and a cylinder half reveals itself. We all stare at it confusedly until Shadow gasps, probably figuring out what it does.

"It's a laser! We have to move!" We all dive out of the way just in time for a yellow beam of light to pass right where we were standing. After sliding on my stomach for a second, I flip back up on my feet, frowning up at a laughing Eggman.

"Ha ha! Didn't expect that, did you?" Eggman presses the same button again, clearly enjoying himself. "Of course you didn't!" He cackles again as the laser quickly charges back up. As soon as it is about to fire, a neon orange whip flies up and wraps around the ray gun. Looking over, I see Tails smiling as he presses a switch on the handle. The long weapon crackles before melting the metal and closing off the opening of the gun. When the laser 'fires', all it does is blow up the front part of the robo's head, getting rid of the fangs and leaving a hole that shows some of the wires and machinery inside. Eggman, seeing this, brings his fist down. "Already? Already?! I will _not_ go down this path!"

"Too bad, Egghead!" I give my little buddy a thumbs up. "Good thinking, Tails!"

"Yeah, now we have one less threat to worry about." Silver comments, dusting the grains of dirt off of his white fur.

The kit retracts the electronic whip and laughs. "Thanks guys!"

"Focus." Shadow glances over to us. "We can't afford to let our guard down."

I wave him off. "Don't be so serious, Shads! This is Eggman we're talking- Gah!" At the end of my sentence, I notice a barrage of heat-seeking missiles coming towards me, too fast and too close for me to dodge. Considering how agile I am, that's saying something. Thinking quickly, I raise my arms above my face, crossing them to minimize the damage that is sure gonna hurt. Closing my eyes and turning my head, I wait for the impact, but it never comes. Peeking one eye open, I see that the half-dozen missiles are held still in space covered with a blue glow. Sighing in relief, I grin at Silver. "Man, that was close. I owe ya one!"

Gritting his teeth, Silver twirls the projectiles around and aims them for the spider. They hit the side of the robot in a multitude of explosions, but when the smoke clears, it looks like the missiles barely did anything to the metal hide. There are very small dents where the projectiles impacted. Eggman laughs again, claiming that nothing that we could do will bring him down. I guess he didn't grieve about the missing fangs and ray gun for too long.

"I'll remember that too." The white hedgehog glances over to me, yellow eyes showing amusement. "And the next thing you owe me when I save your butt again."

I scoff. "As if!"

"If you two are done, I figured out our strategy." Silver, Tails, and I all turn to Shadow. "We have to target where the legs and body connect."

A chuckle escapes my lips. "You just now thought of that?" The Ultimate Lifeform glares at me, but I shrug it off, been used to it. "I noticed that they are the weak spots like yesterday."

"Whatever, Faker. Just keep in mind that the legs are where the danger is." With that, he's off, dodging sharp blades from the legs trying to slash him. Shadow then, using the green Chaos emerald he has on him that Eggman didn't get his dirty hands on, sends Chaos spear after Chaos spear to the joint of one of the front legs, slowly wearing the joint down. When missiles come from the back legs with a mission to hit Shadow, Silver stops them before sending them to the hull of the bot. I'm thinking that he's going to cover Shadow while he attacks.

Liking Silver's little impromptu action, I call over to my lil bro. "Hey Tails, can ya cover me? Like redirect the missiles with your whip or something?"

Tails reactivates his weapon again. "Yeah, that'll be easy!"

I nod. "Great! I'll just dodge the blades…let's go!" Zipping over to the right side of the continuously moving gigantic robotic spider, I go right up to the first leg and duck under a potentially fatal slice. Rolling up into a tight ball, I smash into the joint, vaguely hearing the cracks of Tails' whip in the background. With my quills as sharp as they are, I know without looking that they are creating sizzling sparks because of the friction. Losing momentum, I back off and land back on my feet, quickly sidestepping a vertical slash made by the leg behind this one.

Ears twitching, I glance up to see a lone missile heading straight for me. I zoom out of the way just in time and focus on Tails who is working up a sweat. No matter the mistake, I can't really get mad at him. Especially now, since it seems that he's doing all he can do. I'm just gonna have to keep an eye out for any more of those.

Ignoring Eggman's shouts of 'Just give up', or 'What you're going is in vain', or 'Admit defeat', I focus back on my target and spin dash again, grinding away the connecting metal. Surprisingly, it only takes four spin attacks to dislodge the robotic limb from the body. Inwardly celebrating, I examine the small cuts on my body when I didn't evade the random slashes quick enough. Nothing life threatening.

I go to the next blade wielding leg, sidestepping a meandering missile. When I do, I realize that the robospider has put most of its weight now on its limbs. Heh, Shadow must've taken down his first two legs, that's why the spider is leaning back. After barrel rolling out of the way of the swinging massive blade, I attack the joint between the leg and body, going faster and harder than before. I can't have Shads beat me, now can I?

This time, I separate the leg in two attacks, not even getting hurt once. The mechanical limb drops to the ground and wiggles a bit before dying. After bathing in the satisfaction of that, I turn to Tails who's using the small hiatus in the missiles to regain his breath. "We're halfway there." I glance over to the robot body and grin when I see that my bro actually had redirected some of the projectiles over to it with the whip. I probably couldn't do that myself. "And it looks like you've been helping out in more ways than one."

Tails wipes some sweat off his forehead. "Yeah, it was pretty easy. All I had to do was predict the trajectory of the projectiles to gage the velocity I should-"

I do a calm down motion with my hands. "Whoa buddy! There's no reason to explain that to me." A smirk grows on my muzzle. "I'm impressed either way."

Tails chuckles. "Even during an attack I get carried awa-" The kit's content expression turns into a panicked one and he points to something behind my back. "Sonic, watch out!" Startled, I do a 180 quickly only to get struck in the stomach by a missile. The sole impact makes me grunt in pain before the explosion that envelopes my whole front forces a pained shout out of me. The searing heat singes my fur and blisters my skin, making my brain only focus on the excruciating pain. The blast sends me back a few yards, my body bouncing a bit before I slide to a stop on my back.

Groaning, I try to move my arm so I could attempt to get back up, but the pain from the burns is just too much. I don't get my arm an inch off the ground before I just give up, relaxing my muscles so it plops back down on the grass.

Hearing an angry yell, I peer over to see Tails scowling (which rarely happens) at the third leg. He rears his arm back and throws the weapon over to the weak joint, the orange whip wrapping around the metal. Pressing the same button as before to heat it up, Tails grips the handle with two hands before pulling hard. The bending metal makes a horrible screeching sound that drowns out my groans. With one powerful yank, the leg drops from the body, useless. Panting, my little buddy comes over to me after doing his deed.

He hovers over my body, but doesn't touch me. I'm so glad he doesn't react on impulse. "Sonic!" From the look in his eyes, I'm not sure I even want to see myself right now. "Don't even try to get up right now, okay?"

I want to grin at him, but any movement of my mouth sends a shock of pain throughout my face. "Alright…" I won't even argue with him. Even if I get right back up in most situations, I just can't right now. And won't be able to for a while.

Silver then shows himself from behind the body of the spider, searching our side. "I heard a shout over-Sonic!" He floats his way over here and stands beside Tails. "What in the heck happened here?" His eyes scan my burnt body, very concerned.

"A missile hit him." Tails says sadly before glancing over to Silver with a confused frown. "Wait. Why are you over here? Aren't you're supposed to be helping Shadow?"

"He's fine. He was finishing the last leg on his side." In time with his words, the robot's left side hits the ground with a heavy thud with Eggman loudly complaining. It's surprising to me how the Eggy hasn't noticed he'd hit me yet. Silver crouches down to me. "Does it hurt?" He lightly grazes my stomach and I hiss in pain. The trail of his finger leaves the feeling of fire scorching my already blistered skin. Silver jerks away quickly. "Oh! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Shadow, last but not least, shows up on this side of the now immobile robospider. His eyes widen at the sight of me, but before he comes over, the Ultimate Lifeform takes out the last leg just as the limb was about to send out more missiles. A couple of Chaos spears later, that leg comes off. Shadow skates to the front of the broken machine and threatens Eggman with sinister yellow lightning flickering in his hand. Egghead, of course, panics and dislodges from the spider's head. Apparently, the little dome he's in doubles as a hover craft and he flies away. To another base? I couldn't care less right now. I'm kinda writhing in pain here, if you haven't noticed.

My rival comes over to where we are, eyes hard as he takes in my condition. "He got hit by one of the missiles, Tails says." Silver provides, still looking apologetic from touching me.

Shadow hums in acknowledgement. He couches down like Silver, but keeps his hands to himself. His gaze follows the burns up until he locks gazes with me. "Can you talk, Faker?"

I lick my lips, but that action harmed more than helped. "Yeah…Painful…though." Dammit, that hurt way more than it should have. I'm about say something else, but I cut myself off with a blood curdling scream when my stomach feels like it's being ripped inside out. Disregarding my recent injuries, I lay on my side and curl up, holding my abdomen very tightly. The horribly sharp pain coming from there completely overrides the stinging burns on the front of my body. Its like someone is literally inside me with a knife and cutting his way out. My screams become louder when the man switches the knife with a hatchet, just hacking at my insides. I close my eyes, but that doesn't stop the tears that leak out.

With this going on, I can't help but to think about why this seems familiar somehow.

"W-What's going on?" I can barely make out Tails' voice. No one answers him, no doubt racking their brains to understand why I'm practically breaking down in front of them. "S-Sonic…" His voice is wavering. "Don't hug yourself so tightly, you'll make your wounds worse…" Someone touches my arm, no doubt Tails, but the fingers go away almost immediately, paired with a pained scream that's similar to mine.

In reaction to the surprising development, I actually _stop_ yelling and open my moist eyes to watch Tails drop down to the same position I'm in, screaming his lungs out. "T…Ta-" That's all I can get out before my vocal cords betray me again, the stomach pain becoming unbearable. Tears steadily pour down my face, and I could do nothing to stop them. Look at me, an eighteen year old bawling his eyes out. I must be a real sorry sight.

In my blurry vision, Shadow and Silver both look panicked, the latter more so than the former. "What do we do?!" Silver glances over to my rival, hands shaking in fright. Both of their ears are flat against their heads because of our loud yelling.

"We'll carry them both back inside before contacting Knuckles. We'll figure out what to do from there." He answers quickly, positioning himself to the side of me, where I can't see him. "I'll get Faker and you get Tails because he's lighter." My guess is that he's going to carry me bridal style. How degrading.

Silver seems like he wants to argue about his strength, but knows that this isn't the time. I close my eyes again when the pain increases _even more_. The man figured that he was getting nowhere and grabbed a freaking chainsaw before going to town. I'm a bit distracted by the pain when feel two hands try to pick me up, but, like Tails, they disappear hastily. I hear a thud behind me and an agonizing shout, recognizing it as Shadows'. Is whatever I have contagious? W-What's going on here?

The sound of a body hitting the ground happens in front of me too and I can make a pretty good guess that Silver's caught whatever it is. His voice joins the chorus of pain. My stomach keeps on hurting and hurting until a bright white light replaces the darkness of my eyelids.

Then, I know no more.

* * *

**Knuckles' POV**

"Sonic? Sonic?!" Amy's holding the communicator by her mouth, trying to get to the blue hedgehog. I gave it to her when we found the Master Emerald because I wouldn't be able to use it properly with the big gem that took two hands to carry. Rouge and Blaze were holding on to three emeralds each, so Amy took control of the bracelet communicator. The pink hedgehog lowers her wrist, glancing at us worriedly. "He's not answering!"

I just shrug, making my way down the hallways that lead to the back of the lab. "Maybe his got knocked off."

"Don't be concerned, Amy." Blaze starts, carrying the blue, cyan, and purple emeralds. "There are a lot of situations that could've ended with the communicator being broken or missing."

"Yeah…" Rouge agrees distractedly, admiring her white, red, and yellow Chaos emeralds. "Don't be upset, hon. We'll just meet up with them back there."

"And that should be soon." I add, readjusting my grip on the M.E. that I can't really afford to drop and shatter. It'll be a bitch to put back together.

About five minutes later, we arrive at the clearing, looking around at the trashed field before us. There is a giant black robot body just there in the middle, surrounded by matching mechanical legs lying immobile on the ground. The grass around is singed in some places, stomped on in others. There's a low whistle behind me.

"Wow…those boys sure can leave a footprint." Rouge says, her tone borderline incredulous.

"Speaking of them…" Blaze walks in front of me, head turning side to side. "Where are they?"

I gently place the Master Emerald on the grass beside me, knowing that it'll be safe for the time being because the area looks pretty abandoned. The girls holding the Chaos emeralds do the same before we all stride into the ruined field. We call each of team one's member's names, but we get no answer.

I scratch my head, searching the whole clearing with my eyes, but I don't find anyone. "Where did they go?"

"Do you think that Eggman took them?" Amy's voice is close to hysteria.

I shake my head and give her a pointed look. "Calm down, you know that those four can handle themselves. And besides…" I give the destruction another glance. "I seriously doubt it considering this." I gesture to the nearby area. After a small pause, I hold my hand out to Amy. "Let me see the communicator." She hands it to me without question and I wear it again. Hoping that I'll get an answer, I press the button. "Sonic. I know you're there; where are you?" There's nothing.

"So…what do we do?" The purple cat turns toward me, a hand on her hip. Her gold eyes wandering a bit before focusing on me. "We can't exactly go looking for them because we don't have any idea where they are."

I cross my arms and look up at the sky, sighing. "The only thing we can do is to wait for them to show back up. I don't think that they are in any kind of trouble, so we have to wait." Where in the world are those four? I mean, they just disappeared without a trace. "Well, until they show their faces again and explain where in the hell they went, we have to keep all the emeralds safe for now."

The glint in bat girl's eyes are disconcerting to me. "That means we girls keep two each while you take charge of the Master Emerald?"

"Yes…" I mutter hesitantly, almost regretting that answer when a large smile spreads across Rouge's face. "Take them to your own places and protect them. We can't let Eggman get them again." Amy and Blaze both nod while the bat laughs before flying back over to where the gems are. She grabs the white and purple ones.

"I'll take care of them, hon." She winks at me and I have to keep a light blush from coloring my cheeks. "Don't you worry!" Rouge waves goodbye before flying off into the distance. Boy, is she a handful…

The remaining girls and I calmly walk back to the rest of the gems. Well, Blaze and I are calm while Amy wrings her hands together, biting her lip. The cat beside her places a hand on the hedgehog's shoulder. "It's alright, Amy. Sonic always comes back from whatever adventures he goes on, doesn't he?"

She nods. "Yeah…but I just can't shake the feeling that something's different."

Blaze pats her shoulder before removing her gloved hand. "Want to come with me over to the mall after we drop off the emeralds? It'll take your mind off Sonic, at least for a little while."

Amy smiles meekly. "Sure." She picks up the red and yellow emeralds as Blaze picks up the blue and cyan ones. As they walk off, they both say their goodbyes to me and I nod to them, hoisting up the Master Emerald.

Sighing for a second time, I head away from the lab and go toward the direction Angel Island is in. Passing by all the robot parts, I can't help but think that this whole situation is somewhat similar. You know, just them vanishing into thin air. Huh, I have this bad case of déjà vu, but I don't remember what actually happened. Oh well, I doubt that it's important really. Shaking off the feeling, I continue my way to the island that's staying afloat in the nearby ocean.

After traversing the land for thirty minutes, I put down the M.E. and lean on it, taking a breather. Yeah, I have super strength, but the gem isn't exactly light. I'm just glad that I'm more than halfway to the shoreline. Letting my eyes roam, I notice the slightly dense trees and hanging vines. There are flowering plants everywhere, also with them are ferns and mosses. After landing on a white flower for a moment, a butterfly flutters its wings and flies away.

Thinking that I've rested for enough time, I'm about to pick up the jewel again, but catch sight of the watch-lookalike on my wrist. I stare at it for the longest, going back and forth to if I should try again. It couldn't hurt, right? Bringing it up to my mouth, my hand turns it on.

"Sonic?" Not expecting an answer, I jump a little when I get one.

"_Heya, Knux."_

* * *

**(1)- It's the whip he has in Sonic Boom, but don't worry! They all look the same as in canon.**

**Yep! The winners of the poll were Shadow and Silver! Lol, they actually tied, can ya believe that? And yes, the 'mystery guest' is Tails. Who else would it be? :P**

**And…le gasp! The communicator works! Well, it **_**is**_** the handiwork of a certain genius fox.**


	3. Chapter 3: Return

**A/N- Hey guys! Here I bring you another chapter! But before I do that, I give all of people who reviewed, favorited, and followed my special cookies! They're special because they turn into your favorite flavor! Enjoy! **

**Return**

_The smirk leaves the raven's face and the cold blank expression returns, making my gut churn. "But I know that you can bring him to me, and you will, if you want your friend alive._

I just stare at him, getting more frenzied on the inside by the second. I have _no_ idea who he's talking about! I mean, what kind of shinobi would _like_ a villain that killed people? This is bad…I only get a week to figure this out! Hold on, he never said that I couldn't _tell_ anyone about it, just that I couldn't bring anyone with me besides the mystery person. Someone I know should be able to pick apart the words and make something out of them, right?

Then, I blink my eyes and I see Itachi across the field like he was before he trapped me and Kakashi is still standing at my side. The raven must've gotten me before my sensei moved. Before I can say anything, the Uchiha glances over to me, Sharingan disengaged, before leaping out of sight, no doubt going back to the hideout.

When Kakashi, Sakura, and Granny Chiyo begin to move to follow him, I jump in front of them and hold my arms out, blocking the way. They all seem perplexed before Sakura is the first one to say something. "Naruto! Get out the way! Don't you see Itachi escaping?" I swallow thickly before nodding.

Kakashi cocks his head at me. "What's the matter, Naruto? We have to hurry to save the Kazekage."

They all step around me and are about to give chase when I turn around and plead, "Please don't!" They all stop at my tone of voice. Hey, I don't want to mess anything up here and I'm pretty sure letting them into the hideout now would be _really _bad. "Gaara doesn't need saving!"

"What are you talking about, child?" Chiyo asks with a frown on her face. "He's in serious trouble."

Kakashi gets closer to me, staring at my eyes with his lips set in a firm line on his face. "Naruto, I don't know what's going on in your head, but I thought that you be the first person in the hideout to save him. Now you want to give up on him?"

I hold my hands out, knowing that they are going to need a lot of convincing to keep them from going. "Going in that hideout will kill him!" _That_ gets their attention. The trio in front of me stiffen and they look at me like I've gone insane, but they aren't going to the hideout, so that's a plus! I lower one of my hands and point the way Itachi went with the other. "We can't follow him because if we do…" Sakura then proceeds to put her hand on my forehead causing me to trail off. "Um…What are you doing Sakura?"

She completely ignores me and turns to sensei, eyebrows scrunched together. "He doesn't seem sick, Kakashi sensei. What do we do?"

"What?" I squawk, stricken with disbelief. "I'm not sick!"

"Well, you are acting loony, Naruto." Granny Chiyo comments as Sakura returns her attention to me, making her hand glow softly and I feel the comforting chakra entering my system. I gently push her away before regarding the two adults.

"Just listen!" I take a deep breath, calming myself down. "Itachi had me trapped in his Sharingan." I keep on talking, not giving Kakashi any room to interrupt. "But don't worry, he didn't hurt me." I scratch the back of my head. "Believe it or not, he just wanted to talk." Taking in their surprised and bewildered faces, I continue. "He said that he will give Gaara back alive."

"_What?_" They all ask at the same time, Sakura the only one yelling it.

I nod before crossing my arms, a rare frown scarring my face. "Yeah, he'll meet me at Tenchi Bridge alone in a week, but here's the catch, Itachi wants someone in return."

"Naruto, didn't it ever cross your mind that he was lying?" The kunoichi places a hand on her hip and glares at me. "It's _Itachi!_ The person who-"

"Killed Sasuke's family and is part of the Akatsuki, I _know_, but I can't take the chance if he wasn't lying!" I start pulling my hair, wanting them to truly understand this very unfortunate situation.

"He could be _dying_ right now!" Sakura glares at me, making a fist. "And we're here arguing if that _weasel_ is trustworthy or not!"

"But Sakura! If we waltz in the hideout now, we might be the cause of his death!" I counter, stepping away from her. I've learned from too many experiences to not get near her when she's worked up.

"You both need to calm down." We both turn to Kakashi sensei whose face looks like it is set in stone. His visible eye is shifting between the both of us.

"Kakashi's right." Chiyo adds in, her wrinkles on her face seeming deeper than they were only a couple minutes ago. She gives me her full attention. "Who does he want?"

I run my hands down my face, upset that I can't give her a full answer. "I don't know! He didn't give me a name!"

My teammate sighs, no doubt displeased that I'm not listening to her, but I just can't take the chance. Why would Itachi even do what he did if he wasn't truthful? He could've taken me right there! (Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that he didn't, but still) Sakura pushes some of her hair out of her face. "So how are you going to know who to take?"

I rub my temples, trying to recollect what Itachi said. "He told me that the person, apparently a he, was popular, but now no one remembers him, or something like that." I tap my chin, digging into my memory. "He said that whoever was here and gone, like wind." I then snap my fingers, recalling the most important piece. "The thing that's the most confusing is that he killed people and brought destruction…but we liked him!"

I glance over to Sakura and Kakashi sensei and Granny does too, knowing that she'll be out of the loop for this one. The pinkette shakes her head back and forth slowly after thinking for a moment. "I don't think I've met a ninja like that…What about you, sensei?"

Kakashi hums a bit before answering. "I don't think so either, and you would think we should remember a shinobi like that. Definitely."

Chiyo looks off in the distance, obviously thinking about something. "So what are we going to do? These…turn of events have complicated our situation."

The jonin crosses his arms before focusing on me. I can almost see what he's sorting through. He's weighing the risks of if we head on or stop in our mission. I really hope that he chooses the latter. Normally, I trust ninja like Itachi as far as I can throw them, no, even less than that. But, I don't know, something in my gut tells me to believe the Uchiha.

Kakashi sighs and turns to the oldest of us four. "When we drop you off in Suna, tell people who care about this little bump in the road while we go home." I inwardly breathe a sigh of relief. "We need to talk to our Hokage in person immediately."

Granny Chiyo frowns, but nods anyway. "I understand your decision."

"Wait! But sensei-"

"Sakura." He cuts her off, finality in his tone. "We have to believe that Gaara will be safe like Itachi says. I've known him before he left, and he never lied unless for a very good reason, which happened rarely."

Sakura smoothens out a wayward piece of rose colored hair, a completive look on her face. It doesn't show agreement, but it doesn't show outright opposition. It's a completely neutral expression. A silent moment passes before she crosses her arms and stares straight at Kakashi sensei, lips pressed into a thin line. "What about Guy's team? They need to know about our retreat too."

I inwardly sigh in relief, glad that Sakura (eventually) agreed to this new plan. A Sakura that's not in agreement to whatever you're doing is not a happy ninja, and when she isn't happy, she gets pretty violent over the most minor stuff…and you should know where I'm going with that. I'm practically her punching bag during those times.

She must've seen me relax because she rolls her eyes, giving me a small smile paired with a slight shake of her head. We both start a bit when there is the sound of a poof nearby. Focusing on the source of the noise, we shift our gazes to the canine sitting in front of Kakashi-sensei who has his hands in a sign.

The dog on his haunches is looking up at the grey-haired jonin. His fur is tan with brown highlights on his ears and legs. He has dark circles around his eyes (not unlike another ninja a know) and kanji of the word 'shinobi' on his forehead. The Hidden Leaf headband is around his neck and a blue vest fits snuggly around his body.

The pup has a canine grin on his face. "Yes Kakashi? What do you need me for?" A tan tail swished back and forth smoothly.

Kakashi drops his arms by his sides and regards his ninken, "Biscuit, I need you to go find Pakkun to deliver a message. Can you pick up his scent right now?" Biscuit sniffs the air for a moment with his eyes closed before he reopens them and nods in affirmation. Kakashi returns the gesture. "Good. Tell Pakkun to fill in Guy's team of this situation." The canine perks up his ears, cocking his head to the side a bit. "Say that going into or near the Akatsuki hideout will most likely kill Gaara. It's urgent for them to meet us where the sand stops and where the forest begins outside of the Suna." The jonin glances over to Granny Chiyo. "That's where we'll split ways. Is that alright with you?"

"I may be old, but I'm more than capable of making it back on my own from here." She replies, turning around the face the way where we came from, the Hidden Sand. Chiyo faces us again. "I'll tell his siblings about this, among others." She locks eyes with me, them hard as stone. "Be sure to bring Gaara back." Not intimidated by the look at all, I nod back firmly. I'm definitely not planning to fail getting my friend, their Kazekage, back. Chiyo stares for another second before sprinting off into the forest, disappearing from sight.

Sakura holds her hand out to stop her a little too late, and sighs when Chiyo's gone. I pat her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry Sakura!" I give her my signature vulpine grin. "She said that she could take care of herself! She'll be fine!"

"I don't know, the Akatsuki are out and…" She blinks some before glancing askance at me. "Never mind, they're not. Or so you say…"

"Sakura," Kakashi interjects, his eye in an upside down U. "It's bad not to trust your teammate. But if he is wrong, then hit him as much as you like, along with other consequences." His voice is light, but it also has a sinister undertone to it. I get why. Not only will I face Sakura's wrath, but I will also be responsible for a dear friend's death and _that_ isn't what I have on my agenda today. Kakashi turns back to Biscuit. "I take back the last sentence I told you. How far away does Pakkun seem to be?"

Biscuit gives the air another sniff. "Not very far. Between eight and ten miles."

"That's good. Tell them to follow you back here so we can tell them the details. Hurry, we need to get back to the village as soon as possible."

The ninken gives out a sharp bark. "Got it! I'll be back with them as soon as I can!" The tan dog runs into the foliage, trotting quickly away.

When he's gone, Sakura groans as she runs her hands down her face. "What kind of mess…" She then throws her hands up in the air. "We don't even know who the Akatsuki is looking for!"

"Calm down Sakura!" I do a calming motion with my hands, wanting her to relax again because freaking out is the last thing we want anyone to do right now. A light bulb goes off in my head. "Wait!" I quickly go over to stand in front of sensei. "Do you think that anyone on Guy's team knows who it is?" I think back on my last statement and correct it. "Um…well I know definitely that Lee won't…and maybe Guy himself…but do you think that Tenten or Neji knows?"

Kakashi shifts his weight on one leg and shoves his right hand into his pocket. "There's no way of telling until they arrive." He walks away and leans his back against the trunk of a nearby tree, pulling out an orange-colored book. You can guess the genre on your own discretion. "Until they do, we wait."

Blank faced, Sakura and I look at each other in exasperation. "Right, we wait."

* * *

When there is a loud rustle over to the edge of the clearing, I shoot up fast in the comfortable laying position I'm in, instinctively reaching for my kunai holder at my side. In my peripherals, Sakura jumps down from the branch she was pulling a Shikamaru in, watching the clouds. Her green eyes are narrowed dangerously and her whole body is tense. The odd one out in our little group is Kakashi sensei. He just pushes himself off the tree he still was leaning on and pockets the book.

He waves off our standoffish behavior. "Maa, maa. Don't worry. They're friendly."

As soon as he reassures us, six figures hop out of the thick tree line. Two of them were canine: Biscuit and Pakkun. When the latter focuses on me, he nods in greeting and I give him a warm smile back. It's been on _long_ time since I've seen him last, along with the ninja accompanying him. They all jump out at the same time, Guy, Lee, Tenten, and Neji. The younger ninja seem pretty much the same as they did three years ago, except taller. Well, Neji's hair is longer, but I kinda expected that. Man, it just now dawned on me that it's been literally forever since I've seen them! Three years don't go by quickly!

"Hello dearest Sakura!" Lee waves wildly at my teammate, his all-too-familiar white smile lighting up the area even though the sun is high in the sky. After attempting to hide a wince, she waves back with much less enthusiasm. The bowl-haired chunin then turns toward me and, if possible, the smile shines brighter. "Naruto!" He runs over and pulls me off the ground into a bone crushing hug. No doubt another _great_ trait he'd learned from Guy. "Yosh! It's great to see you again my friend! Now you can continue spreading your youthfulness around the village again!"

I would answer him, you know, if I could breathe.

Tenten, apparently seeing my near asphyxiated state, comes over and pries Lee's arms from around me. "Come on Lee, you don't want him to die after years of not seeing him, don't you?"

Lee chuckles embarrassingly before letting me go. "You're right, Tenten! I'm terribly sorry Naruto!"

On my hands on my knees, I pant harshly for a couple seconds before I regain enough of my breath to respond. Straightening back up, I laugh a little, rubbing the back of my head. "It's alright, Lee. It's good to see you again." I glance over to the kunoichi. "You too, Tenten."

She gives a grin. "Likewise! And it's strange not having to look down on you anymore."

My cheeks redden. "I wasn't that short!"

"Trust me, Naruto." Pouting, I glance over to Sakura coming closer. "You were _that_ short."

"I second that." Sticking my bottom lip out further, I cross my arms and glare weakly at Neji who has a tiny smirk on his face. "However, it's good to have you back Naruto." I roll my eyes. It's just like Neji to insult before saying something nice. But hey, that's just how he is.

Nostalgia overriding the embarrassment, I shake my head in amusement. "Good to be back!"

Someone clears their throat and we all look over to Kakashi. "This reunion is touching and all, but we need to talk about this new development." The atmosphere becomes tense when he unsummons the canines, leaving a cloud of smoke in their wake.

When that cloud disappears, Guy, who was enjoying the group chatter with a wide smile on his face, takes a couple steps forward, face serious. "You're absolutely right, my youthful rival." I have to resist to grin when I see the tiniest of twitches of Kakashi's uncovered eye. "Why couldn't we continue on to the hideout? And how does that endanger Gaara?"

Kakashi gestures to me. "Naruto'll fill you in." And I proceed to do so. I tell them about my strange encounter with Itachi and about the riddle he told me.

When I'm finished, Tenten gasps, "So that's why…"

Sakura raises a pink eyebrow. "Why what?"

"We were fighting an Akatsuki member earlier…" Everyone's eyes on my team widen drastically. "…if you could even call it that. He was dodging our attacks, like he was stalling. Then out of nowhere, he just left." She taps her finger on her chin. "What was his name again?"

"It was Kisame," Neji answers, frowning in thought. "He kept on saying that Guy sensei should know him."

"And still don't." Guy adds, causing his team to sweatdrop. Even Lee. Now that's saying something.

"So he was just keeping us from going forward." The Hyuuga continues. "Until Itachi told you the information he wanted you to know."

"Speaking of that weasel…" Sakura nearly growls out, fists clenched. "Do you guys know who he wants?"

There are four shinobi heads shaking simultaneously. "I can't think of anyone so unyouthful like that…" Way to go Lee. Making up a new word. The green clad teen scratches his cheek. "I have no idea!"

"No one comes to mind." Neji sighs before turning to Tenten with a raised brow. "What about you, Tenten?"

"Nope. My mind's blank."

"Hm…Oh!" We all turn to Guy who is smiling brightly. My hopes are rising quickly… "It _has_ to be someone we've met before!" …And they come crashing back down.

Kakashi's eye twitch becomes more prominent. "Guy, we've already established that."

"We have? Right…"

I slump my shoulders. "Okay, we've made no progress."

"I say now it's time to go back to the Hidden Leaf." Sakura and I both nod, having known this before now. "Tsunade is our last chance of figuring out this riddle. And we need to tell her why we've 'abandoned' our mission." Everyone else nods as well. Kakashi then sprints into the forest and we all follow him, going as fast as we can back to Konoha.

* * *

**Three days later**

"Sasuke!"

"We've missed you so much!"

"I'm glad you're back in good health! Tell me about your missi-who am I kidding? WANNA GO OUT WITH ME TONIGHT?"

Dammit.

Just _goddammit. _

Can they just leave me alone this _one time?_ I just got back from a stressful assassination in a faraway village of an aggravating gang leader that took a week and a half because the member absolutely _adored_ playing hide-and-seek. I had to lure him out and get close to him by…by…Let's just say that I had to buy a wig. My whole body shudders as I run away from my cursed fangirls toward the Hokage tower. Tsunade had warned me that I might have to take drastic measures, but that statement went over my head. Damn you Uchiha mind. Too stuck up to heed other people's words.

"Please love me Sasuke!"

"Let me have your babies!"

"Leave me the f-" No, Sasuke. You're out in public. You can't say that out loud in public areas. It's against the unwritten Uchiha code. "Just go away!" The girlish screams and shouts only increase. Gritting my teeth, I push my raven bangs out of my face and push my legs harder, wanting to get away from these hungry sharks as soon as possible.

Soon, my salvation appears in my line of sight. Literally in a dead run now, I speed into the door, forcefully pushing it open. I run to the stairs, ignoring the confusing looks I'm receiving, and haul tail up to the upper floor. In front of the door leading to the Hokage's room, I take a second to regain my composure. I allow my heart to calm down and wipe the sweat off my brow. After huffing some air and fixing my hair, I set my face into a neutral expression and gently push open the door.

My entrance gains the attention of Tsunade who is doing some paper work, a rarity in itself, while drinking some water. I pause for a moment. What, is today opposite day or something? Ousting that childish thought from my head, I nod in greeting while I make my way to her desk.

She smirks as I take off my backpack to search for my mission report. "Mission success I'm guessing?" I grunt in affirmation, moving clothes and other supplies out of the way. The blonde then chuckles under her breath. "What took you so long? I thought the mission would only take a few days."

I freeze for a brief second before continuing shuffling around. "I had…some difficulties."

"Oh?" I can literally _hear_ the smugness in her voice. "Care to elaborate?"

"I'd rather n-" Just then, I find my mission report and pull it out, but that's not the only thing that decides to say hello. When the dark-haired wig falls to the floor, I just feel like going back outside and feeding myself to the circling sharks out there.

"_Some _difficulties?" She's holding in her laughter now. _Barely_ holding it in. "Wonder what those could be?"

With my shattered pride, I pick up the wig and proceed to burn it to ashes. I let them fall through my pale fingers to the floor. "Nothing worth mentioning." Sighing, I give her the scroll before zipping my pack up and returning it to its place on my back. "Everything that happened is accounted for in there."

Tsunade chuckles, nibbling on her pen as her eyes scan the paper. "Nearly everything." I roll my eyes and decide to change the subject from the obvious elephant in the room.

"Did anything interesting happen while I was gone?" Honestly, I am expecting a 'Nothing really', so when she gets a serious expression on her face, I'm automatically drawn in.

"Yes, actually." She sets down the paper and pen before lacing her fingers together and placing her head on them. "Naruto came back from his training." Wow, that's huge news. So the dobe's finally back huh? A ghost of a smirk grows on my face. Time to see how much he's improved. "He's not here right now though, so you're going to have to put your long awaited spar on hold." Seeing the confused look on my face, she elaborates. "He's on a mission right now with Sakura and Kakashi concerning the Kazekage of Suna."

I blink. "Gaara?"

"Yeah." She creases her eyebrows and a frown appears on her face. "The Akatsuki took him from Suna and to their hideout. I had team Guy go as backup." My body tenses up when Tsunade mentions that horrid word. The Hokage reads my body language and she shakes her head. "As far as I know, your brother didn't take Gaara, someone else did."

"It doesn't matter." I clip, not mad at her, but at the situation. "They're tied together. He has to be involved somehow." I stare at her unwaveringly, resolve set. "Let me g-"

"No, Uchiha." I scowl at her, but she doesn't take back what she said. "They might be in the middle of something important right now and they don't need you bursting in." Right when those words are spoken, the door behind us flies open and slams against the wall. Startled, I turn around to find a sizable group of panting ninjas. The members of said group are Kakashi, Guy, Lee, Tenten, Neji, Sakura, and finally Naruto who seems mildly surprised to see me here before he focuses on Tsunade. "What's going on here?!" The Hokage shouts from behind me.

"I would like to know the same answer." I add, rising a black eyebrow.

The horde moves as one up to the desk, making me grudgingly take a step to the side so I wouldn't be run over. Naruto, at the front, slams his hands down on the desk. He gives her a level gaze, still panting. "We have a big problem."

Tsunade sits back down, after standing up when they busted in here, and calmly regards him, "Explain."

* * *

"Get the gist of it?"

While the manicured blonde rubs her temples, my mind is reeling from all of the information forced into it. The Akatsuki doesn't want Naruto anymore? They don't want any of the tailed beasts? They are _offering_ Gaara up for trade? And a riddle, really? Itachi didn't even _do _riddles! Seriously, is today really opposite day? Because this is ridiculous.

"Hey Teme." I'm thrown out of my internal rant by Naruto's voice. And also by the hand that's being waved back and forth in front of my face. When I glare at him, he grins before stopping. Even though he's annoying, things will be less boring with him back. The spars will be more interesting, definitely. "Did you figure out the riddle?"

I cross my arms and frown. "No Dobe, I don't remember anyone like that."

Tsunade sighs. "Then, I'm sorry to say this…" She pauses for a moment, glancing at all of us. "Actually, no I'm not. You all are stupid." I scowl at her along with Neji and Naruto while the girls and Lee gasp indigently. Guy and Kakashi just go straight-faced, showing no outward emotion. "You all are probably thinking that the person they want is a shinobi." All of our expressions are replaced with confusion. It's not a ninja? Then what, a civilian? They want to adopt a pet? If they do, I'm pretty sure that no cockapoo had destroyed villages before.

Tsunade leans back in her chair, taking a deep breath. She looks ten years older. She obviously knows who they want…is whoever it is that bad?

"Sonic." She says, sighing again as she gives us all a level stare. "They want Sonic."

Sonic? Who's…My eyes widen as the memories assault my brain. A blue hedgehog…super speed…a cocky personality…Chaos emeralds…Shadow…yellow fur…blood…murder…jail…

I come back to reality when Sakura mutters, "Oh my God…"

"He wants Sonic?!" Lee shouts, bewilderment present in his tone. "But why?"

"It makes no sense!" Naruto grabs at his hair.

"Actually, it does." We all turn our heads to Kakashi who has a thoughtful look in his eye. "They must've seen what Sonic can do when he was here. I bet it was hard _not_ to hear about Sonic's killing spree." The atmosphere in the room becomes palpable before Kakashi continues, "But remember it was because of him that Orochimaru died." The tension dissipates just as quickly and I remind myself that because of Sonic, I don't have the cursed seal. So I'm in his debt. Kinda. In a way.

"Kakashi's right." Tsunade says as she opens one of her drawers and starts rummaging through it. A moment later, she pulls out a scroll and my gut drops at its meaning. "They want him for power and they think that we'll trade him for Gaara. They're right." The whole room is silent, like I expected it to be. Not for it nor against it, having reasons to do both. We don't want Sonic working for the Akatsuki, but…we want Gaara, the Kazekage of Suna and holder of the one-tail that could go berserk if he dies, back safe and sound. The Hokage places a hand on her hip. "Any objections?"

Tenten raises her head. "I don't have an objection…but I think there's something you're not telling us."

A disturbing smile slowly grows on Tsunade's face. "That's correct, because I have a plan." She focuses on Naruto. "The plan is, brat, that you're not going to Itachi alone."

The dobe waves his hands in front of himself frantically. "Whoa! Wait! I have to! If not, then-"

"Gaara might be killed, I know. I'm just going to make sure that's not going to happen." The Hokage drums her nails on the wood in front of her. "In four days, Jiraiya's going to go with you and is going to stay hidden. No one else." She says, her sweeping gaze going over the group before coming to a stop at me. "Except you, Sasuke. You're going as well." Huh, I'm actually surprised, given that she wasn't going to let me go help with Gaara not too long ago. Sakura looks like she wants to say something, but thinks better of it. "You three don't have to beat Itachi, but at the right time, you and Jiraiya will have to help Naruto take back Gaara. Sonic should be able to help too."

Tsunade then gestures to the scroll. "We're going to crack this seal open again. Some of you are going to get teams Asuma and Kurenai, filling them in and telling them to meet at Team 7's field pronto like last time. Oh, tell Kurenai's team that their mission is pushed back a bit, for those who are going to seek them out. Kakashi." Said jonin perks up at the sound of his name. "You go get Jiraiya." He nods without hesitation. "Alright, now that's said, any objections to the plan? Comments? Concerns?"

"What about the villagers?" Neji asks, looking out of the windows. "They weren't…accepting of him three years ago." Yeah, a lot of us weren't until he proved himself. I don't think that the villagers know about that, so they might have a negative reaction to the blue hedgehog.

The Hokage shrugs. "Just tell them what Sonic helped do all those years ago. If they still hate him, they are just going to have to deal with it."

Guy smiles widely and gives her a thumbs up. "Such show of youthfulness! I have so much more to learn from you!" Beside him, Kakashi's whole body just twitches.

The Hokage shakes her head before waving us off. "You all are dismissed." Everyone starts to leave. "Naruto, Sasuke. You two stay." I freeze mid-step and Naruto does also. Turning around, we both step up to the desk. Tsunade waits until the others leave before speaking. "You two are partaking in a very important mission in four days." She eyes me. "I know that you're ready and capable." I swell with pride. I am perfection after all. Most of the time. Before my latest mission, that is. Honey eyes then focus on Naruto. "As for you…"

"What are you talking about?! I'm more than ready for this mission!" Naruto huffs, crossing his arms. "I even beat Kakashi sensei!"

"Yes, your strength and abilities are nothing to worry about. Jiraiya filled me in about your training. But, you're still a loud mouth Naruto." I have to bite my lip to stop from smirking. The dobe sees the attempt and glares at me anyway. "And you're not very subtle. We can't have you give away that you and Sonic aren't alone prematurely."

"I won't!" Cue a raised blonde brow. "I promise!" Naruto then sobers up. "I can't afford to. My friend and the leader of a hidden village's life is at stake. I won't make that mistake."

I stare at Naruto in the corner of my eye, slightly surprised that he knows how to be serious. Three years ago, I wouldn't think that he would be capable of this level of professionalism, but here he is.

Tsunade lets a small smile appear on her face. "That's what I wanted to hear." She walks from around her desk and passes us on the way to the door. "Let's go. We have a hedgehog to summon."

* * *

Here we all are, standing in a familiar circle that brings back a strong sense of déjà vu. Everyone who was here three years ago is all present today. The occupants of the two teams who weren't in the office with us, sans Shikamaru, greeted Naruto happily when they showed up. It was amusing because the dobe remembered everyone, even Akamaru, except Shino. Now, no matter how many times the blonde beside me says sorry, the bug lover continues to brood. On the other side of Naruto is the newcomer, Jiraiya. The Sannin had said that he was curious about Sonic because, like loads of others, he had heard of the famous (or infamous, depends how you look at it) hedgehog. I don't blame him.

"Okay everyone, are you ready?" Tsunade shouts down from a tree branch. This is almost _exactly_ like last time.

Kiba laughs out loud. "Yeah! I'm kinda excited to see Sonic again, how 'bout you guys?"

"I-I wouldn't mind…" Hinata responds, her longer dark hair flowing in the slight breeze."

"I just hope that he won't be troublesome like last time." A specific Nara yawns out.

Ino rolls her eyes. "Everyone here right now is troublesome in your book, Shikamaru." Choji chuckles at that, adding a 'It's true' in between breaths.

"It'll be…interesting." Shino says from behind his raised collar. "Bet you remembered him too." He grumbles, aiming the comment at Naruto.

The whiskered blonde whines. "I said I'm sorry, Shino! And plus, I actually didn't remember Sonic! I-"

"I just asked if you are ready, not to give you permission to start conversations!" The others calm down after Tsunade's shout from above. Jiraiya snickers as she continues, "That's better. Now, chakra to your feet! Start!"

On her cue, I close my eyes and send my chakra down to the ground through my feet. It's almost second nature now, for it's needed to run on water and climb trees, which is done _very_ often. After a couple seconds, I peek one eye open to see that the seal painted in ink on the ground is glowing a bright white. A brief moment afterwards, the light becomes unbearable and I close that eye again while hissing in pain.

The back of my eyelids soon fade back to the natural black and I blink open my eyes, along with everyone else as far as I can tell. When I look toward the center of the clearing, I scrunch my brows in confusion. Well, we have Sonic…

…Along with three of his friends.

All of the quartet are knocked out, like Sonic was the first time we summoned him. However, the blue speed demon appears to have his whole front harshly burned. At the sight, I feel slightly guilty at the fact that we _may _have caused that. We don't know what really happens when a creature is summoned. Unexpectedly laying to the right of Sonic is Shadow, who is in way better condition than his doppelgänger with only a couple scratches.

On Sonic's left is another hedgehog that I've never seen before. It is an off-white color, almost like a silver, with tuffs of fur coming off the top of its head and two larger groups of head quills hanging longer. The last one actually makes me blink a couple times, so that I'm sure I'm seeing this right. It's a yellow fox, curled up beside the white hedgehog. It has a tuft of yellow fur in the upper part of its forehead and a white-furred muzzle. The part that throws me for a major loop that is it doesn't only have one tail, but _two._

I rub my eyes, still thinking that they're playing tricks on me. "Naruto…"

"I think that we're hallucinating about the same thing." The dobe turns to Jiraiya. "Pervy Sage…?"

The Sannin runs a hand down his face. "I drank too much last night, you shouldn't be asking me." He looks up some. "Tsunade?"

The Hokage jumps down from her perch and places both of her hands on her hips. "This fox has two tails. We need to point this fact out right here and now."

"Do you think that it's related to _the_ fox?" Shikamaru asks, been alert since we found out that Sonic wasn't the only one we summoned. Actually, the shadow wielder hadn't been this alert since Naruto first told all of us about the Kyuubi before the blonde left to train. Yeah, it was a shocker, but it made sense in a way. The whiskers on his cheeks and how parents and their children avoided him like the plague when they were younger. After that cat was out of the bag, life went on, unchanging. Naruto had said that the reason he didn't tell us earlier was that he was scared to lose his friends. We all teased him for that, causing him to laugh at the ridiculousness as well.

But back to the present, Shikamaru actually looks wide awake right now.

Tsunade shakes her head, getting closer to the multi-tailed vulpine. We all get closer as well, breaking the circle. Everyone gathers around the unfamiliar hedgehog and the fox, but all eyes are on the latter. "No, it can't be. It's from a different world, remember? There's no way it can be related. But just to make sure…Naruto." My teammate tears his gaze away from the downed fox. "Is the Kyuubi reacting at all?"

He shakes his head. "No, he's just sleeping."

"Wow…" Kiba whistles lowly while Akamaru curiously sniffs the yellow vulpine. "Just wow. What are we going to do now?" He scratches his cheek. "Sure, we got Sonic, but also Shadow, Kyuubi's cousin-in-law thrice removed or something like that, and this pot-head here." He chuckles to himself, tugging on one of the white one's smaller quills.

Naruto laughs out loud, offering a high five. "That was actually funny! His head _does _kinda look like that!" Kiba connects his hand to the blonde's, causing a clapping sound to resonate throughout the area. I roll my eyes at the sight. Of all the times…

Ino plays with her long platinum blonde pony-tail. "Well, looks like we have four for the price of one." She takes a step back to observe all four of them. "Hm…actually, the fox seems like the youngest of all of them." Hearing her, we all take our own looks and agree. The fox _does_ look younger, by multiple years.

"That's good to know…but the more important information we need to know is where they all are going to stay." Choji goes over and nudges Shadow's side only to get no reaction.

"Well," Kurenai starts, staring at the burned Sonic. "I say that we just house them were we had Sonic three years ago." All of the others, sans Jiraiya who is getting over the initial surprise that we had went through before, turn toward me.

Knowing that arguing will get me nowhere, I sigh and cross my arms, looking away. "Fine. They can stay at my house." This is going to be a total mess. I just know. I'm going to be sharing my home with four _animals_ (more or less); two of which are complete strangers. Great. "I'm going to keep my eye on the little one though."

"It'll be alright Sasuke!" Sakura smiles at me before peering down at the kit. "It's nothing but a kid! Totally harmless."

"We thought Sonic was too." I deadpan and she laughs nervously.

"So which one is Sonic?" I hear Jiraiya ask.

"It's the blue one." Naruto answers, pointing to the hedgehog's face that is twisted in pain.

The Sannin frowns. "Why is he burned like that? It looks pretty serious, hime."

Tsunade shrugs after glaring at her former teammate because of the nickname. "We don't know." She goes over to examine the body. "This didn't happen when we brought him here all those years ago." Her hands are glowing green now as she begins to heal Sonic, starting at his face. "This shouldn't take long to heal. Someone take the other three, be careful with the hedgehogs though." She grins up at me. "We all know what happened last time." Of _course_ she had to remind me of that. She seriously couldn't pass that up?

That causes a chuckle throughout the crowd and I glare at them, but it goes all over their heads. This group has become immune to my glare. That isn't good.

Choji, closest to the black hedgehog, picks Shadow up carefully bridal style, making sure to get it right the first time. "I'm so glad that they're light." He comments and Kiba hums in agreement as he gently places the white one on Akamaru's back.

Hinata bends over and picks up the fox the same way Choji did Shadow. She giggles when the kit automatically curls into her, wrapping its tails around her body loosely. "It's really cute and soft…"

Tenten smiles softly as she ruffles the tuft of fur on its head. "Got that right."

"It might be for now." Asuma speaks around his cigarette. "But looks can be deceiving."

Guy slaps his shoulder and shakes it a bit, earning himself a surprised grunt. "Pessimism doesn't look good on you Asuma!" He laughs. "Don't always-"

A loud groan interrupts Guy's sentence, causing all of us to glance over to where Tsunade and Sonic are. The former has paused in her healing in order to watch the other wake up. All of us ninja crowd around the two. Another groan escapes peach lips as blue eyelids flutter open. Emerald irises seem unfocused until they lock onto the nearest person, the Hokage. After a second of confusion, Sonic's expression is extremely comical with his wide eyes and dropped jaw.

"T-Tsunade?"

* * *

**Yep! I'm know I'm cruel for ending it there, but hey, the chapter has to end sometime! XD**


	4. Chapter 4: A Great Start?

**A/N- Thanks to all of you who reviewed, favorited, and followed! Love you guys so much!**

**Sonic: (thumbs up) Yeah, y'all are the best!**

**Why are you here? Get back in the story!**

**Sonic: Geez, calm down! I was just taking a break, being in there is hard work, ya know. Being unconscious and all.**

**Yeah yeah, shoo.**

**A Great Start?**

**Sonic's POV**

I know that I'm lying on the ground somewhere, and it feels like grass underneath me. I realize that I should open my eyes and get up so I can figure out where I am because I know for a fact that I'm still not in the clearing where we defeated Eggman. Just a gut feeling.

I want to move something, but I _can't_ because even though the mysterious agonizing pain in my stomach is gone, the almost equally as unbearable burns on the front of my body prevent me from twitching a muscle. And I feel tired; I don't have any idea why. Maybe it's because of the fact that my body had taken an unnecessary beating after dismembering Egghead's giant spider. Well, whatever it is makes my eyelids weigh a thousand pounds and I don't lift enough to raise that kind of weight.

So I just lay here on the soft ground for a moment before my sensitive ears pick up voices. Red flags are going up in my head right now. Did someone kidnap me? Not that I would like to admit it, but their timing was perfect. Waiting until I passed out along with – Hold up. What about Tails, Silver, and Shadow? Are they here too? I think they 'caught' whatever I had and blacked out with me, for some reason I can't explain at the second.

Focusing my ears more, I notice that none of the voices that I can't exactly make out (guess I'm still waking up) sound like Shadow, Tails, Silver, _or _Eggman, so he's scratched off the list of possible kidnappers. However…the voices I hear aren't completely _unfamiliar_. I think I've heard them before, but I can't put a finger on where and when I did. The warning signs in my head are quieting now because I think that I would remember conversing with a group of criminals. _Pretty_ sure. So they are most likely not people running away from the law.

"So which one is Sonic?" Now that voice doesn't ring any bells. That one is completely foreign to me; it sounded like a grown man…Whoa! Put on the brakes! 'Which _one_ is Sonic?' I'm certain that everyone and their mother knows who I am: the Speed Demon, the Blue Blur, the Fastest Thing Alive. So where in the world am I? And I want to know who's with me even though I have a suspicion.

"It's the blue one." Wait! I know that voice! It belongs to…to…Ugh! It's on the tip of my tongue! Come on brain, remember! Who in the hell does that voice belong to?

"Why is he burned like that? It looks pretty serious, hime." It's that stranger again, but I bet I will agree with him if I can see myself. The burns _feel_ pretty serious. So much that I can't move without sending a shockwave of pain through my body.

"We don't know." I hear footsteps coming towards me and I have to resist the urge to tense, knowing that the movement would be a very bad idea right now for my hurt body. This lady's voice though…I remember it but I just can't match the face nor name with it! This is literally tearing me up inside. "This didn't happen when we brought him here all those years ago." All those years ago? How many years? I wish I just could open…My thoughts then derail when a _very_ familiar feeling starts flowing all over my face. I stop focusing on the voices surrounding me and revel in the euphoric feeling on my head right now. It switches from my ears to my forehead to my cheeks and then finally my muzzle. It almost seems like it's healing my burns there, but that's ridiculous! No one can do that! Right?

With all these questions racing in my head, I decide that I'm going to try to pry my eyes open to answer most, if not all, of them. Groaning at the effort, I notice that the feeling leaves my face as I blink my eyes open. My vision is slightly unfocused, but I zero in on the person closest to me anyway. As my sight clears, my mild curiosity and confusion is quickly replaced with extreme bewilderment. My eyes widen and my jaw drops as I take in the pigtailed blonde, not looking any different from three years ago.

"T-Tsunade?" If she's here, that means that I'm back in the Hidden Leaf Village! I actually don't know how I feel about that. I mean, I guess it's cool seeing all of my ninja friends again, but I didn't want to be reminded of the things that happened here I've tried so hard to forget. Well…no offense to my friends here, but…I never wanted to come here again really. The hateful faces I received from here were replaced quickly by the grateful and happy faces at home. I don't want to be looked at the other way again, because I'm sure I will be if I show my extremely recognizable face in the village. I know it's inevitable now since they summoned me – or whatever they do – back here.

The older blonde nods and gives me a small smile. "The very same. Welcome back, Sonic." Momentarily forgetting the bad condition my body is in at the moment, I try to get up only to hiss in pain when I'm reminded harshly about the horrid burns on my front. Wincing, I lay back down on the cool grass with Tsunade pressing down on my chest with her hands activated again, glowing green. Yeah, that's where that weird feeling is from. "Don't move quite yet, let me heal you up." I sigh in relief as her hands hover over my chest, healing my irritated skin.

"What happened to you anyway? It wasn't like this when we brought you here before." Perking my ears at the incredibly familiar voice, I turn my head, that no longer hurts to move, in the direction of the sound. My eyes widen a second time as they see the bright sunshine blonde hair and scarred whiskered face. Naruto takes in my shocked expression and grins. "What? You didn't forget me, did ya?"

A smirk then grows on my face, previous unease about being back here pushed to the back of my head for the time being. "Nah, I'm just not used to you not being the runt of the litter anymore." I chuckle while he squawks indigently, crossing his arms and puffing out his cheeks. There is some truth in my tease though. Naruto was so short three years ago, (well, I really don't have any place in calling anyone short, but compared to the other genin, he was) and now he seems like he's on par with his peers.

Speaking of them…I study all the people surrounding me. There's Tsunade working hard on me, Guy, Asuma, Kurenai, Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, Ino, Sakura, Shikamaru, Tenten, Lee, Neji, that bug guy (his name is a total blank right now), some white-haired man with red tattoos, Kiba, Akamaru, Hinata, and Choji. The last three are holding Silver, Tails, and Shadow…

Stop the damn truck and put it in reverse.

Silver, Tails, and Shadow? Why are they here?! Th-They're not supposed to be here! I'm not that upset about Shadow because he was here before and knows what went on back then, but Silver and Tails? They can't know, especially my little bro! How will they react if they find out that I murdered hundreds of people? I don't even want to know…

Swallowing thickly, I focus on Hinata who is holding Tails, unconscious. The kit's tails are around her body and he is snuggled up in her hold. At least he isn't hurting anymore. Shadow and Silver don't seem like they are either. "H-How did they get here?"

Everyone looked at me strangely because my nervous tone, but Sakura eventually answers, "Actually, we have no idea!" She runs her fingers through her short bubble gum hair. "We only tried to summon you, but Shadow and two of your other friends came too."

Able to sit up now because Tsunade is done with my upper body, I do so and run my hands down my face. "That's just great…"

The Hokage pauses in her treatment of my legs to glance at me with a raised blonde eyebrow. "What's wrong? I would think that you'd like having your friends tag along."

Sighing, I look away from her and focus on a knocked out Silver splayed out over a _much_ larger Akamaru's white back. I distractedly rub my left arm up and down. "Don't get me wrong, I would normally! But…I don't want Silver and Tails figuring out what happened three years ago."

"Silver and Tails?" Kiba looks in between the two mentioned Mobians before chuckling a bit. "Wonder which name belongs to who?"

Ignoring the brunette's comment, Neji stares at me with his hard pale eyes. If I was any less of a heroic hedgehog, I would've been intimidated by the look, but since I'm not, I'm perfectly cool with it. "What?" Neji crosses his arms, shaking his head slightly in disbelief. "You haven't told them?"

"Aa…no?"

"You know that they are going to find out eventually."

I shake my hands in front of me. "Not necessarily!" I then scratch my cheek, racking my brain for a way to keep them from knowing, but not coming up with anything. "I'll just keep them from knowing. I really don't want my lil bro discovering that I killed people."

"Your little brother?" Shikamaru yawns out, pointing over to the white hedgehog. It's good to know that the shadow wielder still has a major case of the lazy. "I'm pretty sure that – what's his name – Silver is old enough for that not to freak him out." He pauses for a second. "Much. If I'm right, you're eighteen and he doesn't seem that much younger than you at all."

I blink. "Silver?" I shake my head and gesture to the kit in Hinata's arms. "No, I'm talking about Tails." Getting confused looks, I explain further, "He's my brother in everything but blood." I slump my shoulders, glancing at Tails. "I really don't want this to change that…"

Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I glance up and focus on a smiling Naruto, apparently done pouting. "Why are you so worried? If he's your bother, one mistake – that totally wasn't your fault anyway – isn't going to break your bond with him." How does he know that? Anything could happen. As if he's reading my mind, the blonde continues, "Remember when I promised that I'll tell my friends that I have the Kyuubi inside of me?" Kyuubi…oh yeah, it's that demon inside of him.

_I glance at him and give him a smile. "Alright. If you won't spill, then I won't either. But you will tell them eventually, right?"_

_Naruto returns the gesture. "Yeah, I will."_

When that memory's done, I nod up at the whiskered ninja. "I remember that."

Naruto removes his hand and sweeps it across the people surrounding him and me. "Whatd'ya see? They're still here." Well, it's good that he told them, but I'm still iffy about telling Tails. I have no idea how he's going to react.

"Wait a second." Sasuke speaks up, glaring at the blonde. "He knew about the Nine Tails before we did?"

Naruto chuckles nervously while scratching the back of his neck. "Maybe…?"

"So you told Sonic, who you had barely just _met_ about the Kyuubi, and not your friends?" The raven scoffs at his own wording. "And I use that term loosely." I roll my eyes. I'm glad Sasuke hasn't changed much either.

Sakura starts to crack her knuckles, and there is a dangerous glint in her green eyes. "I agree with him, _Naruto._" Her voice is very ominous and I'm really glad that it isn't being directed at me. "Why didn't you tell us?" She then advances on a nervous looking Naruto.

Said shinobi takes a step back and puts his hands up. "Whoa Sakura! Heh, I'm sorry? I didn't mean anything by it!"

"_Sure _you didn't!" The pinkette reminding me so much of Amy raises a fist while Sasuke stands to the side, looking content with a sly smirk on his face. Just when she is about to bring down a fist that was going to leave one hell of a bruise, Kakashi quickly grabs her hand and stops the hit.

He eye smiles and I snicker under my breath, remembering the many times he did that. "Calm down, Sakura. We don't need any unnecessary violence right now. Wait until later, okay?" The kunoichi's downcast attitude changes dramatically by the end of Kakashi's sentence. She grins deviously while Naruto stares at his sensei like he had just sold his life away.

"You bet I will." Her smile is sweeter than honey; it is one that couldn't be trusted.

Before Naruto could run for the hills like I know he wouldn't hesitate to do at the moment, the voice that I didn't recognize interrupts the violent thoughts I'm sure are going through Sakura's head. "Speaking of the Nine Tails…" Rotating my ears to the source of the man's voice, I glance over to the white-haired older ninja to find him staring at Tails with a frown on his face. What's his problem? "Your friend Tails…he's not going to be an issue, is he?"

I copy his frown and am about to answer, but then I spot a brightly covered book in the guy's pocket. If my memory doesn't fail me, I remember Kakashi having the same type of book all those years ago and recall the silver-haired ninja blushing and giggling occasionally. It totally went over my head back then, but right now I know exactly what those types of books are about. "What are you talking about, Old Pervert?"

That causes a few chuckles throughout the group and the man sighs, but I keep my frown, wondering exactly why this guy is suspicious of Tails. We all just got here, for Pete's sake! The old man shakes his head in exasperation. "Great. Another Naruto." A particular blonde barks out a laugh at that. The white-haired shinobi focuses on me again. "What I'm trying to say is that the Kyuubi and your little friend there both are foxes with multiple tails. Is that a coincidence or something else?"

Getting what he's implying, I scowl a bit. "Tails isn't a blood-thirsty monster!" I barely restrain adding 'like I was' at the end of that. "He wouldn't hurt a fly!" Well, except a mechanical one made by a specific egg-shaped doctor, but that doesn't count.

The man holds his hands out in front of him. "Don't get so defensive! I'm just looking out for the safety of the village." He looks pointedly at me. "You know, just in case." After a moment, I lose my scowl and take a breath. I can't really get mad at him. I wouldn't want any nasty surprises after last time either if I was in his shoes – er…sandals.

"I know…but Tails is totally harmless." I then give him a lopsided grin and jab my thumb over to my knocked out rival and Choji. "If you want someone to be wary about, pick Shadow over there." I snicker some. "I'm sure everyone here can vouch for that."

The man turns to Shads with a raised brow. "Shadow? He's dangerous?"

Kakashi eye smiles again. "Not really _dangerous_ per se, Jiraiya." So that's the pervert's name? Alright. "Just don't get on his bad side."

Tsunade stands back up, done healing me, and crosses her arms. "Unless you want your wall blasted."

"Or a gun pointed to your head…" Sasuke grumbles darkly, redirecting his glare from Naruto to Shadow. The whole group joins in with their own laughter, Shikamaru, Neji, and Shino letting out small chuckles.

"What's a gun?"

Standing up and immensely relieved that there are no more burns on my body, I wave Jiraiya off. "Don't worry about it, Pervert." Just because I know his name doesn't mean that I'm not gonna give him the nickname he deserves. And I just like teasing people.

Tsunade then claps her hands together, silencing everyone in the clearing. "Okay, now that you're healed, let's get to the reason we called you back here." Putting one hand on my hip, I nod to her, wondering to why I'm not celebrating one of Eggman's many defeats with the rest of my friends right now. Her honey eyes harden. "You are an important piece of a serious plan."

I blink and tilt my head a bit up at her. A plan? I usually don't have a set plan when I take on Eggman or any other villain; I run on instinct. And how am I important? "What kinda plan?"

Tsunade taps her chin. "We can't talk out here. It's too open." She turns away from me and points to Sasuke. "You take Tails." The raven stares at her oddly for a second before shrugging and taking my lil bro away from Hinata. "Jiraiya, you get Silver and Naruto, you get Shadow. Be careful of their quills." With that warning, Shadow is very carefully transferred from Choji to Naruto and Silver is gingerly picked up from Akamaru's back by Jiraiya.

Naruto then treats my rival like a sack of potatoes and throws Shads over his shoulder, holding him there by an arm wrapped around a black waist. "Why did you tell us to do that, Old Hag?" I don't fail to see the subtle twitch of Tsunade's eye.

"The members of the plan and I are going to a safe…" She gives Sasuke a shifted glance. "…place to fill Sonic in. To avoid any other listening ears."

Jiraiya nods, after wincing is disgust when Silver drools a bit on his shoulder (the Pervert is holding the psychic like a mom who is burping a baby. Quite hilarious actually), along with Naruto and Sasuke. Even though they get the hidden message, I'm totally clueless. I don't speak ninja!

"Glad you understand." Tsunade focuses on the others of the group. "Alright, you all can continue doing what you were before I called you here." She gestures to Kurenai. "You and your team can go on that mission now." The red-eyed sensei nods before telling her group to get ready for the mission and meet her by the front gates. Kiba, Hinata, Shino leaves after waving goodbye to me and saying that they'll see me later. Guy's team leaves after said sensei very loudly bellows (that's one thing I didn't miss) that they should get in more training because they didn't land a hit on some shark guy (his words, not mine). Lee agrees just as enthusiastically and excitedly before following Guy out of the clearing. After sharing a sigh, Neji and Tenten trail after them.

With a brief goodbye, team Asuma departs. Their sensei and Shikamaru go off to play some board game I haven't heard before, Ino says that she has to man her family's flower shop (I think that would be Sakura's second job – for obvious reasons – but I guess not), and Choji leaves to grab some barbeque. Kakashi just pulls out an all-too-familiar book and disappears in a puff of smoke after an eye smile and a cheerful 'Ja ne'.

Tsunade turns to the last person left. "Sakura, I want you to go to the hospital and take care of some of the patients there until I'm done with business here." She heals people like Tsunade? That's pretty cool.

The pink-haired kunoichi wavers on her feet for a second before nodding. "Alright." She turns to me with a smile that doesn't quite reach her face. "I'll see you later, Sonic. It's good to have you back!" Are her words before she runs off and out of sight.

When she's gone, I turn back to the four standing in the clearing with me. I furrow my brow, having noticed Sakura's disappointed mood. "What's wrong with her?"

"I think she wants to come with us in a few days…" Naruto mutters sadly, carefully readjusting Shadow on his shoulder. He looks over to Tsunade with his puppy-dog eyes activated full-blast. "Old Hag-"

The older blonde folds her arms in front of her chest and shakes her head. "No, brat. I only chose ninja who have the best chakra control for this mission." She gives Sasuke a fleeting glance. "I was going to choose Kakashi over Uchiha here, but then I realized that Sasuke can hide his chakra better than Kakashi can. Matter of fact," Tsunade grins teasingly at Naruto. "The only reason you're going is because you _have _to go."

The raven smirks as Naruto is about to retort. "How does it feel to be second-rate, dobe? After three years of training, with a Sage no less, you're still not up to my level?" Both Naruto _and_ the Jiraiya guy are offended.

The white-haired man sticks his nose in the air. "I have you know, I trained Naruto the best I could when I wasn't doing research for my- OW!" Jiraiya is now bent over with a bump forming on his head, Tsunade holding a fist in the air with a tick mark on her forehead.

"I swear if you finish that sentence how I think you're going to finish it…" She growls out, eyes flashing. Her victim just winces as he rubs the throbbing area with his available hand. I blink as I watch them. Those two act so much like Naruto and Sakura that it's almost creepy.

Hearing a battle cry, I shift my gaze over to Naruto running over to Sasuke, a glare set in his face. He then stands right before the raven and shoves a finger into Sasuke's chest, right above Tails' head. "Before we go on this mission, you and I are going to have a spar. I'll make you eat those words, teme!" I smile as I remember me saying that to Shadow a long time ago. You know, minus the 'teme' part.

Sasuke takes a step back from Naruto since he couldn't push him away with his hands occupied with Tails. "Anytime, anyplace dobe." He then focuses on Tsunade who is still sneering at the perv. "Speaking of fighting, can we go now? I'm not fully comfortable with uh…Tails _cuddling_ with me." It's hilarious how that raven actually looks uncomfortable as my little bro snuggles into his chest.

I laugh out loud, earning a half-hearted glare. "Just be lucky he isn't a hedgehog. We don't want you getting hurt _again, _now do we?" Looking back on it, I find it funny how Sasuke and I got off on the wrong foot because he got cut by one of my quills when I was out cold.

The Uchiha rolls his eyes. "You and Tsunade are one in the same…" She brought that up too? Grinning, I glance over to the Hokage to see her smiling back at me.

"How can we not bring it up?" The older blonde shrugs before answering Sasuke's question. "And yes, we can go now."

I hold my hands out in front of me. "Whoa whoa, where are we going exactly?" I'm a little nervous for their answer. If we're going to the Hokage Tower (ah, the memories) or anywhere inside the village…let's just say I really don't want to deal with those situations.

Sensing my concern, Tsunade answers, "Don't worry Sonic, we don't have to go into the village for where we're going." I relax my body at that and she turns toward the tree line. "And plus, you should know where we're going. You spent most of your time there." With those words, she jumps into the trees with Jiraiya, Naruto, and Sasuke following her, all careful with their passengers.

I place my hand on my hip and think for a moment. I've spent the most of my time there…? Oh! I seriously resist the urge to face palm. Of course, Sasuke's place! I hope I remember how to get there…

Just when I'm about to take off, something shiny in the corner of my eye stops me. I walk over to it and pick it up when I realize what it is. It's Tails' electronic whip; he must've dropped it and no ninja really paid attention to the device. "I'm glad I found this." I say to myself as I tuck the deactivated whip handle into my head quills. "Tails would've had a fit if he lost it." After making sure it's secure, I zoom into the trees bordering the village.

Zig-zagging between the large wooded plants, I very quickly catch up with the quartet who are hopping from branch to branch. Sasuke and Naruto have gotten faster – they are the ones leading the group – but I can still out speed them any day. I glance up to see my friends who came along for the ride jounce along with the bodies of the shinobi holding them. Shouldn't they have been woken up by now by all of the movement? Well never mind, because if memory serves right, I didn't wake up right away either.

About a minute later, we burst out of the foliage right in front of Sasuke's home that doesn't seem all that changed from three years ago. As we walk up to the front door, I chuckle as I remember the night before Shads and I left to go back home. Shadow was completely drenched in paint that he was using to fix Tsunade's wall. It was because of that kid uh…What was his name? Kono…Konoha…I can't remember, but it was rolling on the floor funny.

At the door, Sasuke hands Tails over to Tsunade so he can open it. The raven ninja unlocks and door and pushes it open, revealing the inside of the home. I glance around as we walk in. Again, nothing's changed. This guy must not be really into home decorating. I've got no room to judge though. I might move a pillow around. Occasionally.

"So…" Jiraiya starts as he shuts the door behind him with his unoccupied hand. "Before we fill Sonic in, where do we put his little friends?"

Sasuke leans on the back of one of the two couches in the living room in thought before straightening up and gesturing to follow him. "There's a bedroom on this floor that we can put them in."

"A room on this floor…?"

_There is blood everyone. No doubt it's my own. Random puddles litter the floor and some drips from the walls where I've bounced off. There are splatters on the bed and even on the ceiling…_

…_Swaying a bit, I raise that same hand again to touch my first wound of the fight. Enduring the sting, I hold the hand up to my face to see it drenched. My heart nearly stops. _

_I'm bleeding out._

Shaking away that horrible memory, I furrow my brow at the application. "Wait a minute, are you talking about _that_ room?"

Sasuke nods. "The very same." A smirk then grows on his face. "Don't tell me you thought the room is still bloody and completely unusable and that I wouldn't have fixed it immediately."

I scratch my cheek embarrassingly. "Well…if you put it like that…"

"Wait." Jiraiya glances at all of us, a puzzled expression on his face. "What happened in that room, exactly?"

"Sonic was kidnapped from there, Pervy Sage." Naruto throws over his shoulder as he slowly makes his way out of the living room and into the connecting kitchen. The blonde glances over to Jiraiya, his gaze uncharacteristically (at least for me) serious. "He fought with Kabuto…"

"Aa…I see." The man responds while he follows in his student's footsteps and leaves the living room. He looks back at me. "It's a good thing you got revenge for that."

I cross my arms and my lips twitch downwards. "Yeah, just not the way I preferred it though." I know he gets what I'm implying because his eyes turn soft for a brief moment before going to the room with Sasuke leading the way, mostly for Jiraiya's sake. I walk after the four into the kitchen that brings the feeling of nostalgia, then to the hallway to the side of it. The Uchiha comes to a stop at the first door on the left and opens it. As we all pack inside, I scan the room, and despite Sasuke's words, expect to still see it painted red with my blood. Instead, I take in a bedroom that is exactly what it looked like before that horrible fight. No stains, no dents in the wall, nothing but cleanliness.

Shifting my focus away from the room, my eyes see the three shinobi laying Shadow, Silver, and Tails on the large bed. The trio could lay on it and have plenty of room to move around.

"Alright." Tsunade turns away from the piece of furniture and glances at me. "Let's go talk about why we need you in the living room."

Feeling a bit mischievous, I smirk at her and give a thumbs up. "Gotcha!" I then zoom out of the room, through the kitchen, and jump on one of the couches in less than a second. Snickering to myself, I lay down on it, arms folded behind my head.

It's not long before the ninja find me again.

"You haven't changed at all!" Naruto laughs as he approaches the couch I'm on. I sit up as he plops down. "And it looks like you've gotten even faster!" He raises up a hand and I give him a high-five.

I grin cockily. "You know it! What do you expect from the fastest thing alive?"

"'Fastest thing alive' huh?" Jiraiya leans against the nearby wall as Tsunade and Sasuke share the other couch. The perv raises a white brow. "From what I've just seen, I don't doubt it." He turns to the Hokage. "I thought you were over exaggerating when you told me about his speed."

"Nope." She shakes her head. "If anything, I might have under exaggerated it."

"Tch…" Sasuke puts his elbows on his knees and places his chin on his intertwined fingers. "Let's try not inflate his ego anymore." He smirks. "It's already big enough as it is."

"Just admit it teme," Naruto replies before I could. "You just don't want his as big as yours. Your Uchiha pride's kicking in."

While I chuckle under my breath, Sasuke glares daggers at the sunshine blonde. "Shut it, dobe."

"Okay, I think that's enough of that." Tsunade's face morphs from entertained to serious. "Let's get started. Sonic." My ears perk up. "This is a very important mission that can be very dangerous."

I scoff and scratch my nose. "What? You think that's going to deter me? Hell, I fought a giant mechanical spider today, and got blown up doing it! That's why I was burned out there." I point outside and they nod. "Would I do it again?" I smile. "Without hesitation."

"Well that's good." Tsunade leans back into the cushion of the couch and gives me a level daze. "Because in four days, we're offering you up for trade."

What. The. Hell.

Before I could point out how _bad_ that plan is for me, static fills the air. Startled, we all look around the room. The shinobi are tense and ready to make a move. I'm the same way because unlike back home, this place is unpredictable.

When I realize that the sound is coming from me, I glance down at my body and zero in on the communicator that's still on my wrist. I had completely forgotten about this. "Don't worry guys," I say, holding up my wrist. They see it and attentiveness turns into curiosity. "It's my communicator…" The implications of this crashes down on my head and I jump up from my seat, ecstatic. "And it works!"

Pressing the button on the side, I hear a voice come through, loud and clear. _"Sonic?"_ It's Knuckles!

Ignoring all of the eyes on me, I place my hand on my hip and answer, "Heya, Knux."

"Knux?" I see Naruto share a perplexed look with the other ninja, but I focus on the only person right now that _isn't_ giving me up for adoption.

"_Wha? Sonic! Man, where in the hell __are you? Don't you know how worried the girls were when we couldn't find Shadow, Tails, Silver, OR you?"_

I snigger. "Aw, miss you too, Knuckles."

"_Shut up."_

Sasuke's brows furrow. "Knuckles? I feel like I've heard that name before- Wait a minute." His widened black eyes stare at me. "That's the person you were referring to before you left!"

I pointedly ignore him.

"_Who's in the room with you? I don't recognize that voice."_

"Hm…How do I explain this?" I rub the back of my neck. "You know three years ago when I just disappeared for like two weeks?"

There's a short pause. _"...yeah…"_

"Well, I'm back here again and the person you heard is one of the ninja I told you about in this world."

There's an even longer pause. _"Okay. Um. Well, I'm about to bring you back here now. So say goodbye to your 'ninja' friends. You have a Chaos emerald, right?"_

"Yep." I zip over to where the living room meets the kitchen and shrug off the panicked gazes from the shinobi. I'm seriously about to get the emerald and my friends and take our butts back home. Their plan is ridiculous. "Shadow has one on him."

"_Alright. Tell me when you're ready and I'll start the process."_

"On it." Just when I'm about to take a step, someone grabs my arm. Glancing up, I stare into raging sapphires.

"What are you doing!?" Naruto shouts, his grip becoming tighter on my upper arm. "We need you!"

I tear it away from his hold. "And I'm not an item to be traded!" I shout right back at him.

"_Traded?!"_

"I'll fill you in when I get back, Knux."

"Sonic, if you go, one of my friends will die!"

That stops me.

I give Naruto my attention once again, wondering if he is just bluffing. He continues with a pleading look in his face. "He's being held hostage! I know the way the Old Hag said the mission sounded bad to you, but let us explain!"

I stare at the blonde for a long moment before bringing the communicator up to my lips. "Hold off on the Master Emerald magic for a sec, Knucklehead. Let me give them a chance to redeem themselves before I kiss this place goodbye."

* * *

**Ah Tsunade...she needs to learn to be less blunt. XD**


End file.
